AN ARTIST'S MARK BLOG by Kathleen Kalinowski, a contemporary impressionist painter of landscapes in Oil and Pastel gives an insight to her inspiration, process and goals as a working professional Fine Artist.

"Dunes and Porter Creek" was inspired by my favorite beach in the Nordhouse Dunes area in the Manistee National Forest. Porter Creek is a small stream emptying into Lake Michigan. The dunes surrounding the creek and along the shoreline have changed dramatically over the many years that I have been camping there. A few years ago a fierce wind storm changed the dune landscape. Sadly many trees and branches littered the dunes. The worst part was the trash washed up onto the shore. Many kind folks spent their vacation hours cleaning up the beaches. To this day, trash continues to litter these pristine areas after storms and currents carry the trash to our beaches. I am hoping that in some small way, we can all do our part to eliminate littering and to be more conscience of keeping our earth beautiful for all future generations.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

These four paintings were accepted in the 2012 Festival of the Arts Exhibition in Grand Rapids, MI. The exhibit and opening reception is at the GR Press Building, May 25, from 5:00 - 8:30 pm. More info can be found at Festival 2012. The exhibit will run until Saturday, June 9.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Lilacs and Pear, pastel, 12x12, $850. framedI was so captivated by these lilacs and quickly arranged them into a vase. One of my lilac bushes is of a darker red violet color and the younger bushes are the typical light lavender. I just set the branches in a vase and they seemed to arrange themselves in a pleasing manner. I had not really planned on adding the pear, until I started blocking in the composition. I like how the pear helps lead the eye up to the lilacs. Also, I changed the table cloth color to a pale orange to complete the triadic color scheme. The lilac scent is still lingering in my studio.

Daffodil Bouquet, pastel, 12x9, SOLDI actually painted this still life last spring. Recently, I took it out of storage and decided that it was a lovely little painting, that just need a few more strokes of yellow green leaves on the forsythia. I framed it and it makes me smile when I look at it. Very cheery!

Petite Daffodils, oil, 10x8I am pleased with the color combinations in this painting.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Tulip Garden, oil on linen panel, 11x14Last Sunday, I met up with Barb Schilling and Barb Berens to paint at Veldheer Tulip Gardens in Holland, MI. As you can see, it was a beautiful sunny day, a little on the cool side. This is my painting, which I hope to use as a study for a larger studio painting, maybe in pastel. This painting will appear on my web site some time this month.

Follow by Email

Followers

Kathleen Kalinowski

About Kathleen

I am an artist because I have always had an innate desire to share with others what I see as beautiful. When painting, I feel a personal connection to nature with all the sensations of light, atmosphere, mood, and color. Color is my passion. Many years of plein air painting has helped be to interpret color, and practicing outdoors is the key to creating successful landscapes. My goal is to quickly capture the light and retain my initial concept. The plein air work influences my studio work by reminding me of my inspiration. My hope is that the viewer will be inspired with another understanding of how beautiful our world can be and left with a feeling of pleasure. My paintings celebrate life.